The first week of preseason games is almost over, leaving two weeks of games and three weeks before the regular season kicks off. However, injuries are happening all over the place. The latest victim is New York Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, who suffered a potential ankle injury at practice. What is the latest update on his status?
Malik Nabers Injury Update
The Giants opened up the weekend for Preseason Week 1, hosting the Detroit Lions this past Thursday. As a result of their early game, New York was on the practice field Sunday in which Nabers left early.
According to Pat Leonard of NYDN Sports, Nabers took off his left shoe and limped off.
Dan Duggan of The Athletic added that Nabers didn’t go inside after checking out of practice but was clearly limping towards the end. “He was using a band to flex his left ankle/foot while sitting on a chest on the sideline,” said Duggan.
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ESPN NFL Nation’s Jordan Raanan added that the Giants don’t appear overly concerned at this point. Raanan adds that Nabers’ injury is believed to be a minor ankle sprain.
On Monday morning, Giants head coach Brian Daboll provided an update to the media on Nabers’ status. According to Daboll, doctors are still evaluating Nabers, who is sore after he got twisted up. Daboll declined to answer if Nabers has received an X-ray, but doesn’t think it’s a fracture.
In a 14-3 win over the Lions, Nabers played in the first quarter with 12 total snaps. However, he did not catch a pass or receive a target.
Despite that, Nabers has been a star during training camp, making countless highlight plays.
Malik Nabers makes an incredible catch on the feed from Daniel Jones 🔥 pic.twitter.com/tsCShUjXix
— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) July 28, 2024
Should Fantasy Managers Be Concerned About Nabers?
Considering Nabers has already cemented himself as the Giants’ top target in the passing game, there has been a lot of hype for the talented rookie in the fantasy community.
But should fantasy managers be worried about Nabers’ injury? We spoke to PFN’s Fantasy Analyst Kyle Soppe about Nabers, who doesn’t seem overly concerned about his injury.
“Nabers is a featured part of this loaded rookie class at the position and that, along with some training camp highlights, have pushed his ADP into the late fourth round” Soppe told us.
“This injury doesn’t sound like a major issue, so I’d expect his current ADP to stick through August. From a roster construction point of view, this is too rich for my liking. The WR position is so deep that I don’t find myself inclined to bet on talent over situation this early” Soppe continued.
“Zay Flowers and Tee Higgins are a pair of wide outs with a lower ADP but far more stability when it comes to offensive environment. I don’t doubt that Nabers will have his moments this season thanks to a strong target share, but the valleys might be more impactful than the peaks.”
“You can target quantity of targets in the first third of the draft, I’m happy to take quality in this range.”
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